If you live in certain parts of Suffolk, it’s a frequently asked question - where were you when Storm Babet hit?

Such was the huge impact on towns and villages like Framlingham, Debenham and Wickham Market that the events of the day are well and truly forged into people’s memories.

It’s hard to believe that it is a year ago this weekend. I know that many families and businesses are still living with the impact of the storm.

As the lead flood authority, we have duties to fulfil when a storm of this size and unpredictability strikes. In the case of Storm Babet, the scale of our role in terms of resources and the costs continue to be significant. 

In fact, such is the significance of the cost, that we estimate the additional flood defence work needed will require another £20 million.

Cllr Paul West.Cllr Paul West. (Image: Suffolk County Council)

This is money we simply do not have lying around. Storm Babet was an extreme event and Suffolk was one of the worst hit.

Fully dealing with the impact of a storm like this needs national funding. Simply put, to fully protect Suffolk, the government must act.

Therefore, we have written to the Flooding Minister outlining the ongoing impact of Storm Babet on Suffolk and asking for the additional £20 million required to protect our residents.

We have a greater understanding of the costs involved following the completion of a series of flood investigation reports.

This is how the £20 million has been calculated. These reports are really helpful in understanding what happened in a given location and what measures can be put in place to further reduce flooding risk in the future.

These involve many agencies working together, such as the Environment Agency and Anglian Water.

Of course, we will never be able to fully protect from flooding, especially on the scale of Babet, but there are things we can do.

Examples include creating flood water retention ponds in land above villages and green spaces within communities to capture water and slow the flow into residential areas or installing flood doors and non-return valves on drains to stop water entering properties that are particularly at risk of flooding.

We can also help landowners with advice and guidance, especially those with responsibilities to maintain ditches and streams on their properties (known as ‘riparian ownership’).

In a normal year, we expect to complete about three or four of these reports – since Babet, we need to complete more than 50, with seven already done.

This equates to hundreds of actions – all with significant cost - needed to further protect Suffolk from flooding, especially as winter looms.

Of course, we continue to invest heavily in flood prevention work – it is not just a case of asking for Government hand-outs.

Yesterday, we announced that an additional £1.5 million will be spent by the council on flood defences.

This is on top of the £13.75 million already committed. Despite the limited resources and budgetary challenges facing all county councils, we have managed to find this extra money. 

The other money spent includes bringing in further resource to help with the investigation reports and repairs to Suffolk’s highways following the flood damage, including long-standing drainage issues.

Extensive work has also been carried out on Suffolk’s roads – specifically clearing 96% of highway drainage gullies (more than 111,000) and attending more than 3,500 emergency call outs for flooding related incidents – an unprecedented number.

This work has made a difference, but it will not go far enough without government investment.

To date, whether it’s abandoning Suffolk’s £500 million county deal, approving the vast Sunnica solar farm against huge local opposition or putting the Winter Fuel Payments of 177,000 local pensioners in doubt, the new Labour government has done nothing to demonstrate they have the back of Suffolk residents.

Now is the time for them to act and prove they care about our county.

The Conservative County Council has played its part with over £15 million of investment following Storm Babet, the government must now play its part and step up to the plate to help us ensure Suffolk’s residents don’t face uncertainty when these extreme weather events occur.

This opinion column has been written by Cllr Paul West, Cabinet Member for Operational Highways and Flooding